Books aren’t always just there to entertain, some of them are there to offer guidance, to shape your world view and pull you in a new direction.

In your twenties, you probably need this more than ever.

Quora users have listed their opinions on the most important books to read before you turn 30, take a look below

1, Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

What they said on Quora: “I do not know any other book with such elegant prose and more poignant painting of the picture.”

2, On the Road, Jack Kerouac

“If you love to travel. If you are crazy enough. If you do booze, smoke or drugs and even if you don’t, let me present you this hell of a book.
This book is only for people who are driven by their passion, craziness and the zeal to live life.”

3, Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank

“This book will tell you about the pain, sufferings, love, dreams, hatred and excitement of a young Jewish girl who stayed for two years in hiding and then later was killed in a concentration camp.”

4, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseinni

“Khaled Hosseini will astonish you with his power of storytelling. I can bet you that once you start reading this book you can’t keep it down. I guess nobody until now has been able to describe Afghanistan in a better way than Hosseini.”

5, The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

“I usually have a bias against love stories, but this is one romantic novel I just adored.”

6, The Last Mughal, William Dalrymple

“If Indian history interests you even a single bit, you should read it. It gives you many insights and information on the India around and in the battle of 1857.”

7, The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“Probably a book that should be read for the first time when you are still a kid, but once it sinks in it becomes, allow me to quote higher powers in writing, the ‘cornerstone of your understanding of the universe.”

8, The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch & Jeffrey Zaslow

“Because this last lecture will stay with you forever.”

This article is written by Elsa Vulliamy and published in Independent.